1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to improvements in plates, specifically to a modification which will allow a plate and a drinking vessel to be held in one hand.
2. Description of Prior Art
Plates made of paper, plastic, and other materials are often used at buffets and parties to hold food. The plate is held in one hand leaving the other hand free to deliver food to the mouth. Drinks are also served at these events and if the party-goer is standing, which is often the situation, it becomes difficult, and usually impossible, to simultaneously hold the plate and cup and deliver food to the mouth. If the party-goer is holding the plate in one hand and a cup in the other hand he or she would have to put the plate or cup down before eating, shaking hands, or using the other hand.
Heretofore, an inventor has devised a way to combine a plate and a cup. U.S. Pat. No. 2,427,697 to Walter Weidler (1947) shows a plate with ring mounted at the plate edge to support a glass or cup. It is not clear if this plate with cup holder was supposed to be held in one hand. In order to hold this plate in one hand, the thumb would have to wrap around toe plate edge and extend along it. This method of holding a plate is difficult and quickly tires the hand, especially when there is a full cup and food adding weight to the plate. It is also difficult to balance and control the position of the cup because the hand is not proximate to the cup. Alternatively, the plate could be held from beneath with one or both hands. If held from below with one open hand, palm up, the plate would tend to lean in the direction of the cup and therefore be difficult to control. It is also difficult to firmly grasp a flat bottom plate from below. If held from the bottom with two hands, the advantage of freeing up one hand would be lost.
The shape of the supporting ring can only accommodate the cup it was designed to hold, thus requiring that a certain cup be used with the plate. Finally, the plate if made from paper or fibrous material, would have to be rigid enough to support the cup at the plate's edge.